Home Posts filed under Essie
Showing posts with label Essie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Essie. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Essie Fiji


Similarly to Mint Candy Apple, Fiji has a special status in the beauty community. I have to admit, I never got the hype. I mean it's an off-white pink, so what? But so many people adore it and highly recommend this shade. Actually, I didn't buy this myself, but my cousin got it and found that this colour doesn't suit her complexion, so she asked me if I want it and put it on my blog. Isn't she nice?


Fiji is a very pale milky pink with a creamy finish. That's it, a nude-pink nail polish. I still don't get what all the fuss is about to be honest. It's pretty, but rave worthy? Nah, not really. Apparently this looks great with a tan, but I wouldn't know that since I am very pale.  


The formula is a pastel from hell. There I said it. It's like Mint Candy Apple and Fiji are these evil pretty cousins that make you spend applying nail polish way longer than you planned to. It's a thick formula that is also runny, so when you go to apply it on the nails, it messes up everything around. At least three coats are needed for a decent even finish. The brush is lovely and fits my nails perfectly, but what does that help when the formula is behaving like a little disobedient child.


Ok, I might be thoroughly spoiled by gel formulas, but it's 2015 people. Essie you need to let go of these old school classic pastel formulas. Even Catrice, which is less than a third of the price has better behaving pastels. When I was swatching this for a review, I applied three pastels in a row and this one was a nightmare compared to Catrice's CC nail polish.


So tell me, any one of you a die hard fan of this shade? Do you also find the formula hard to work with?


Essies cost 9.90 € in DM.

Have a great day!
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Friday, August 21, 2015

New In #33


CATRICE Chocolate Nudes Eyeshadow Palette
010 Choc'Let It Be
This is such a gorgeous palette, I truly love every colour in it, however, the pigmentation is disappointing. I was so looking forward to this palette, but I think this time Catrice focused just on how it looks and forgot about the quality as this just isn't what I'm used to from their previous palettes. All shades need a lot of layering for a decent colour pay-off and even now that I've proper swatched it for the review, which took off the top layer, they are not much better. The third shade is particularly disappointing, while the fourth is the most creamy one and thankfully the pretties one as well. I so want to love this, but as much as I love the colours, I wish the quality was better. I had several people tell me that they are disappointed too, so I'm not the only one. I did a look with this palette here (I used a primer).
Tuš Drogerija, 5.29 €

CATRICE Eye'Matic Eyepowder Pen
050 Al Cappuccino
This was on my original wishlist I posted a while ago, but I then changed my mind when I saw swatches of these after German bloggers had the event. However, when I saw them in person, I just loved these. They are stick powder eyeshadows, with the colour in the lid and a sponge applicator. I got the shade that I predicted in my wishlist I'll like the most, Al Cappuccino, which is a shimmery taupe-brown that is just a classic everyday colour. They are sheer, giving you more of a nice shimmery wash of colour, but they are super handy to keep in your makeup bag.  
Müller, 4.29 €


CATRICE Prime and Fine Professional Contouring Palette
010 Ashy Radiance
Finally a drugstore brand that is available in Slovenia launched such a product. I was very intrigued by this ever since I've seen the press release, but at the same time I was concerned that I'll be too orange as it often happens to drugstore brands. I have to say I'm impressed. It's more brown than my old favourite NYX's Taupe, but its sculpting abilities are really good nonetheless. The highlighter is subtle, which some might not like, however, it's a nice champagne tone. I'm wearing both shades here. 
Müller, 4.69 €

I loooove this so much. This is what I wanted Max Factor's Creme Puff in Lavish Mauve to be. It's similar to Catrice's I'm Nuts About You and Rose Royce, but it has that actually glow on the cheeks. This needs to be added to the regular line. I did a review of it here.
Müller, 4.29 €


*MAX FACTOR Velvet Volume False Lash Effect Mascara
Max Factor launched a new volumising mascara that promises not to weigh down lashes even if you like to apply tons of coats. The packaging and the brush is very similar to the classic False Lash Effect, so it's a big plastic brush that defines every lash. It doesn't give much volume though. I'm waiting for the formula to thicken a bit, but for now it gives a very natural, defined effect. As far as weighing down the lashes goes, my lashes don't hold a curl for a minute with this mascara. This is definitely a mascara for those who prefer a very defined look and want more of a natural effect.
14.35 €

There is also a new eyeliner in this collection, but I haven't got a chance to try it. I am very intrigued though and I'll definitely buy it one day, though the price is a bit steep.
 10.55 €

*MAX FACTOR Smokey Eye Drama Kit 
02 Lavish Onyx
Also new on Max Factor stands are these eyeshadows quads. Mine contains a shimmery champagne shade, a shimmery rosy-taupe, shimmery dark grey with navy tones and a matte cool dark brown. I love this, well at least the quality, the colours are a bit of a half-half. These are sooo pigmented and  I did not expect to like this as much as I do, but that shimmery medium brown is gorgeous and I also like the darkest shade in the palette, though when blending, a lot of the colour disappears at this shade, so it needs layering.
I saw a nice bronze-coppery quad on the stands and I'm very interested in it.
12.99 €


ESSENCE Matt Touch Blush
10 peach me up! and 20 berry me up!
These two were a part of the preview collection and I grabbed both. I'm not a massive fan of Essence blushes, but these are matte, so I just wanted to check them out. I really like these. The quality is much better than at Silky Touch blushes because they are more finely milled, the apply nicer and have plenty of pigment, for my pale skin at least. These are quite hard blushes and unlike their Silky Touch blushes they don't dust/flake when you swivel your brush in them. Peach me up is a classic peach shade that brightens up the skin and Berry me up is a darker pink shade that gives a rosy-pink I-just-came-from-the-cold-flush.
Müller, 2.79 €

COLLECTION Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner
I just became that person that buys liners all the time. But actually, I love trying out felt tip eyeliners, even though I've already found my favourite. This one has such good reviews on Boots international and it was very reasonably priced, so I had to try it. However, I'm not blown away by it. It's similar to the Essence one, but not as black and the nib is thicker, consequently a bit clumsier. The formula seems more watery or at least not saturated enough, so it feels cheaper to what I'm used to, but on the eyes it's hard to tell that it's less black than others. It's not a bad liner, it still does its job very well, but there are so many better ones.
Boots International, £2.99


CATRICE CC Care & Conceal Nail Polish
04 Apricot Skin-Fit
This caught my eye on the Innen & Aussen blog (respect to Karin for swatching everything) and I liked it straight away because it's an interesting nude. On me it's more of a pastel apricot than a nude, but of course the darker your skin tone, the less apparent that apricot tone will be. Formula is a thick pastel one that requires two, sometimes three coats.  
Müller, 2.89 €

ESSIE Nail Lacquer
Fiji
My cousin got this colour, but found it too light for her skin tone so she gave it to me (thank you!). It's a very pale pink shade with that annoying pastel nail polish formula that Mint Candy Apple has.
DM, 9.90 €


BARRY M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paint
Road Rage
I know what you're thinking - mint green Mateja, how original. Well, I just can't help myself. It's greener version of Mint Candy Apple and brighter that Kiko's Jade Green, but the formula is about as annoying as the previously mentioned Fiji's.
I have a few other colours from this range on my wishlist because they all look drop dead gorgeous. I couldn't manage to get shade Navy from the regular range because it was out of stock and that makes me a bit sad.
Boots International, £3.99


L'OREAL Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-Frizz Shampoo
Boots had a two for three offer and I found that they still have this shampoo that disappeared from our shelves just as I found it and fell in love with it. This is hands down the best drugstore shampoo ever (though basically the new Extraordinaire one is exactly the same) and similar to my all-time favourite Kérastase Oleo-Relax, but for a fraction of the price. I wanted to stock up on these, but either the site was glitchy or this was the last one(I seriously hate how problematic and difficult to navigate Boots International site is). At least I got the 400 ml bottle.
Boots International, £3.99

L'OREAL Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-Frizz Conditioner
I didn't even know this existed, but in the shopping basket it went straight away as I spotted it. I've used it a couple of times so far and I'm not blown away by it. It's a bit light for my hair, despite hearing it's very thick. I washed my hair and it looked nice for a short time, but my ends got dry by the morning. As far as frizz control goes, it works halfway. With a hair dryer the hair is noticeable sleeker, but the frizz pops back up fast. It's not a bad conditioner, just not enough for my super dry hair, but if your hair isn't like that and isn't as thick, give it a try if you can find it. It contains argan oil quite high on the list, plus it claims it contains heat protection.
Boots International, £3.99

L'OREAL Elvive Extraordinary Oil Oil-in-Cream
Dry, Rough Hair
I swear when I see this kind of new hair products my eyes glow like a Christmas tree. I saw this presented as PR samples on a few blogs and I straight away loved the idea as I was actually searching for something similar for a while (I had Kérastase and L'Oreal Professional's versions on my wishlist). It's basically a cream leave-in conditioner, but's it's not one of those that makes your hair all limp and weird with bits of unmelted cream lingering in your hair, rather it feels like there is more oil inside, but it doesn't make your hair greasy and it also doesn't leave that silicone felling on the hair. It has coconut oil on the second place among ingredients, which is pretty amazing considering we are talking about L'Oreal here. There are also some other extracts, but they are after the sixth ingredient, so there are probably minute amounts of them inside. My ends were so dry in this year's summer heat, plus I've been using mostly drugstore conditioners because I'm saving the good stuff too much (classic me *rolls eyes*) and this hydrated them so well as well as made them feel silky. Best of all, I can use this on dry and wet hair. It smells like the rest of the Extraordinary line, so a bit like cinnamon. I am liking this a lot.
By the way, there is also a version for normal hair, but neither are sold in Slovenia.
Boots International, £6.99

DOVE Style + Care Dry Shampoo 
I'll again say that my hair never gets greasy because it's so dry, so I can't properly assess how well this works on greasy hair, but even I feel like that the hair isn't truly refreshed like at for example Batiste. This of course doesn't matter to me because I use these just to quickly refresh my hair, but there is a reason why this has such polarising reviews. But the most important thing to me is the scent and this smells so good. It's kind of sweet, but a typically Dove clean scent. 
Boots International, regular price £4.59

I actually have a ton left in my old bottle, but since I was already making a purchase on Boots plus there was an offer, I got a backup. I seriously love this, which might be obvious since I'm already bought another one, but I use this every time I curl my hair. It makes the curls look a bit better, it adds some extra volume, hold and it smells nice. It's very similar to VO5 as I've said before, but somehow there is so much more product in the can, which must be one of the greatest mysteries of the world, since VO5 claims there is 50 ml more product than CW.
Boots International, £6.99


THE LIBRARY OF FRAGRANCE Sunshine 
This was on my wishlist for a while, but I got it purely because I love the word sunshine. This brand is called Demeter Fragrances in its native USA. I'm not sure why the name change was necessary, but they have an impressive collection of interesting scents, ranging from one note fragrances like Peach, Green Tea and Lime to some very unique scents like Baby's Head, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Storm and even Pizza - their creativity appears to have no limits. Sunshine smells like much its name, believe it or not. Imagine yourself hanging the laundry on a warm sunny day. It's a warm and clean scent that I think nobody would be bothered by. The staying power is much better than I expected, but it's still not amazing, which is not that odd considering the notes and that it's a cologne spray.
Boots International, £15


BALEA Beauty Effect Eye & Lip Serum
I got so vain. A year ago I just woke up one day and noticed these two smile lines staring back at me in the mirror, so that's the reason I got this. I know it won't erase them, but I'd at least like them to stop deepening. It's a light gel that you apply on areas around the eyes and lips and if you rub it in, it kind of emulsifies a bit. It sinks in fast and hydrates the area, but I still need to apply a moisturiser over it. It has a gentle, classic moisturiser scent and the packaging has a handy pump, which I really appreciate. The main ingredient in this is hyaluronic acid and the ingredients of this in general  look really good. But does it work? I don't know yet as it's more of a long term investment product in my skin, however, I like using it.
Ingredients here.
DM, 4.29 €


BALEA Soft & Clear Anti-Mitesser Nosestrips
These are just classic blackhead removing nose strips and I notice no major difference between these are the Cadea Vera ones, except that in one pack of those, you get more strips. They are simple to use and they do remove some of the black heads, but not all of them. These have a strong, sort of chemical scent, but I don't dislike it.
Ingredients here.
DM, 1.99 €

To my horror someone nicked this mask and completely emptied it (I know who it was, since their hair was suspicious shiny and healthy looking that day), so I basically ran the next day to get a new one. I really like this (obviously), especially since I've seen what an effect it has also on other people's hair (seriously the shine was amazing). It's a great drugstore buy for dry hair and It's no wonder it's one of the most popular budget hair products.
Müller, 6.39 €


ESSENCE Rock Style Hair Dye Powder
01 pink punk and 03 bright blue
I got these after being seriously impressed with the hair chalk from the Arriba! TE and these were going to be discontinued anyway, so they were super cheap. I don't like the packaging of these, they are so much harder to use that that one from the Arriba TE. The colour pay-off is a little bit poorer, but I again use a sticky, wet hairspray as a base and it works great.
Müller, 0.99 €


ESSENCE Smokey Eyes Brush
These next couple of brushes were bribery for getting me to go on a quick trip and honestly I chose them because they are mint green. The size and shape is perfect for my hooded eyes and it works well with very soft and pigmented eyeshadows, but it's more of a brush that deposits a strong line of colour, rather than a brush that would also blend. It shows that it's very cheap, but it's not useless. I have a couple of smokey eye brushes from before, the "old" version that is (I think they still sell them) and they are softer, not so dense, therefore in my eyes better.
Müller 1.39 €


ESSENCE Make Me Pretty TE Precise Eye-shadow Brush 
01 eye to eye
Again it's mint green. And it has polka dots. I mean come on, did someone read my mind or something? It's another very dense brush, too dense in fact. You get an intense line of colour with this, but it's not designed to create softer looks or blend at least a little. I feel about the same about it as about the Smokey Eyes Brush.
Müller, 1.99 € 


ESSENCE Make Me Pretty TE Liquid Brush Cleanser
Against all my expectations, this works better than expected, but it doesn't make the brushes sparkling clean. You spray it on the brush, leave it for a minutes or two and then wipe it in a tissue or a cloth. It cleans well enough and disinfects the brushes, which is handy if you really need a decently clean brush fast. I wish the bottle was larger because 50 ml is such a small amount. Maybe Essence will include this in the next permanent line update, I'd certainly love to see that. 
Taya did a much more comprehensive review of this TE, including this brush cleansers, so have a look at what she thinks about it here.
Müller, 2.79 €

Have a great day!

* - PR products.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Spring Beauty


BASE
Spring is time for lighter bases and this one definitely fits the bill. It has a light to medium coverage, in fact in that respect it's very similar to Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, however, the finish is more satin-matte than dewy which will appeal to those whose skin gets a bit shiny during the day. This is my ultimate product for when I'm in a hurry as it takes seconds to apply and blend in with fingers.

Out of all my foundations, BBs and CC creams this has the best finish ever. Again it's similar to Healthy Mix Serum in terms of coverage, but with a more satin finish. This literally looks like skin. It just melts in invisibly and it doesn't settle into lines or pores. To me this is the perfect base, but the lightest shade is too dark for a Snow White like me, so I really wish Bourjois made another lighter shade of this.

BOURJOIS Healthy Mix Serum 
This has been my favourite foundation since its release. It looks incredibly natural and fresh on the skin due to the dewy finish and it's particularly nice for dehydrated skin with dry patches because it's one of the rare foundations that doesn't look odd on such skins. This is a staple in my collection.


 EYES
I love a neutral, defined look in any season, but I think that such a look fits into spring especially well. This is the palette that started my matte neutral-taupe eye look obsession and it made me fall in love with eyeshadows. The shades in it are perfect for an everyday defined eye, but the colours can also be worn in a smokier combination. The quality is fantastic and these are some of the best matte eyeshadows around. 

Basics 2 offers a bit more variety when it comes to medium toned shades and it also contains more cool toned shades. If you find the first version too light for your skin tone, this should work at lot better. The quality is again superb as at the original, so another pack of nicely pigmented and smooth eyeshadows.

 I've raved a lot about this budget friendly palette and I still love it. It's like someone put both Naked Basics palettes together and took only the good shades in it. The quality is really good for the price and all the colours are actually matte.


CHEEKS
BENEFIT Coralista
Coral is the obvious choice for spring cheeks and Coralista is my favourite because it's gorgeous coral shade with an illuminating shimmer/glow. This is the type of shade that makes you look so fresh.

The most classic warm pink shade that brightens the face by giving a cute flush to the cheeks, but without any shimmer. The quality of these blushes in amazing, especially considering the price. 


This is one of those great super perky peaches for pale skins. I prefer this to pink blushes when I want to look healthily flushed, plus the velvet cream texture looks very natural on the skin.

Pop of Pink is a bright warm pink-coral and can be used quite sheer or build up for intensity. The liquid-mousse texture gives the cheeks that lovely natural "of course I'm not faking that flush" finish, especially when paired with a light base. 


LIPS




Nude-ist is a beautiful muted rose shade on me with a nice matte finish and it's one of those fantastic natural shades that give me a bit of colour and definition to lips. 

These are such a fancy replacement for a lip balm due to their comfortable, creamy formula and the divine peachy scent. Rose Melody is a natural-pink my-lip-but-better-shade with a nice glossy finish that is great for any easy everyday look.



This is one of my never-fails default lip colours for most occasions because it manages to brighten up my pale skin tone, but isn't too flashy or too in your face. It's a medium pink-coral or peachy-pink and I really appreciate that there is more pink in it because corals mostly look unflattering orange on me.

The brightest choice in my selection, Sweet Tart is a bright, warm Barbie pink that is very pigmented, which is a pleasant surprise for such a balmy product. 


 Cotton Candy is a warm pink that is similar to MAC's Please Me, so it's a great everyday colour, when you want something neutral, but not completely nude (on condition you have a pale skin tone). The formula is really creamy and yet it manages to cling on longer that for example Essence's pencils, so it's a nice replacement for a lipstick.

This is currently my favourite lip colour as it's one of the nicest light peachy-pinks ever. It's a good pencil that is somewhere between being creamy and hard, so it defines well, but the formula is a drier one, however, the colour makes it all worth it.

NAILS

The rather dully named nail colour, 01 is a a nude with a rose-violet-taupe tone, which is close to my skin tone, but those cool hues keep it from looking like mannequin fingers. The formula is so smooth and surprising easy to apply for an opaque nude nail polish, but what impressed me more is how shiny is the finish.

This is that one fantastic transition shade that can easily be worn from autumn though winter into spring because it's such a nice mix of styles. It's a mix of autumn-winter taupe and spring pastel lilac shades, so it looks very modern on the nails. 

ESSIE Nail Lacquer
Mint Candy Apple
The quintessential mint green nail polish that is closer to pastel blue than green. The formula makes you work for it, but there are plenty of better performing dupes anyway and you can't really have a spring without such a shade at least once on the nails.


I got this hoping it be the perfect nude nail polish, but it turned out to be so much more. It's a pastel light pink-peach shade, so it's somewhat nude but with a cute twist.  

The name completely fits this brightened coral-pink shade as it really is cute.The formula of this shade is unbeatable because the application is so smooth and even.

The greener and a bit more muted sibling of Mint Candy Apple, but with a much better performing formula.


FRAGRANCE
Katy Perry Royal Revolution
A sweet, yet fresh scent which still has that depth that also makes it a nice choice for a night out. It reminds me of a very nice smelling shampoo and I love such scents in the spring.

LA RIVE Moon
This is one of those clean, but classy scents that work no matter the occasion or season. It's basically a cheap knock-off of Hugo Boss Nuit Pour Femme and works just as well. It starts with a nice peachy burst, but it quickly settles into a nice expensive fabric softener scent.

The heaviest fragrance out of the three, but still lighter than all those vanilla-cupcake based scents like Fantasy. Fame is a lovely blend of apricot, honey and flower notes, while the depth is created by the smokiness of the incense note.


Have a great day!
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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Essie Bahama Mama and Watermelon


Bahama Mama 

This might be one of the most popular Essie's shade and for good reason. It's just the right amount of warm purple with a hint of pink, making it the perfect deep berry-ish shade or as I call it Tyrian purple. It's vampy without being vampy and to me a softer, girlier version of Sole Mate. It's definitely a shade worth having in any collection.


The formula does not disappoint either. It's smooth, easy to apply evenly and it takes two coats for full opacity. The brush is just the right width, so it's a pleasure to use. I've become quite a fan of Essie nail polishes, though the price is step (I always wait for a 50% discount). 


Sole Mate on the left and Bahama Mama on the right.


Watermelon

I bought this super summery colour in the grips of winter because sometimes you just need something bright and colourful when it's cold outside, right? Watermelon is a bright, warm pink shade, I see it as a more sophisticated Barbie colour. The formula of this shade is too die for good - seriously. If you ever tried Cute as a Button, this has the same formula. So smooth and pigmented, you can easily get away with just one coat. A fantastic nail polish. 
 

Cute as a Button and Watermelon.

Essie nail polishes cost 9.90 € in DM, but I always wait for a discount. 


My current Essie collection so far. From top row left to right: Spin the Bottle (LE), Mint Candy Apple, Turquoise and Caicos, Cute as a Button, Really Red, Watermelon, Bahama Mama, Sole Mate and After School Boy Blazer (LE).

Have a great day!
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